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The skua gets a bad rap. This bird is somehow considered to be of poor moral character because it eats penguin chicks and eggs. It is a lot better than what humans do. The skua is really quite amazing. They live 30 to 40 years and of course they are pretty tough birds. They get lighter in color as they get older. There was a skua about 30 feet away from the helo when we took off the other day. I thought for sure he was going to get blown away. Somehow this bird (only very slightly ruffled)stayed on the nest.

Today I am off to the top of Mt. Terror. It can get cold up there of course. The weather really needs to be watched. None of the helo pilots like to fly up there. I think they really do like it, but they make it a bigger deal as sort of a self-created drama.

Dave Infantine retires from work today from Raymond and before that, IBM. Congratulations Dave.

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